


Play Date

by wildfox



Series: Homewrecker AU [2]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cheating, Dad!Jace, F/F, M/M, ceo!alec, dad!Alec
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-09
Updated: 2017-11-09
Packaged: 2019-01-31 04:53:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12674823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wildfox/pseuds/wildfox
Summary: Isabelle is done with Alec's bullshit. Alec and Jace have an open conversation about Alec's marriage to Magnus. The kids have a dramatic play date.





	Play Date

**Author's Note:**

> Ok so! This is a continuation of a previous short story, Homewrecker. I wasn't going to post a second part this soon, but the story just wrote itself and I had to get it out.   
> I actually can see myself writing a third part of this? Maybe Magnus' point of view of the whole thing? There's a lot more to his side of the story, and his feelings on the affair might not be what you'd expect. Let me know in the comments if you'd like to read that!   
> Enjoy!

"You knew." Clary tone isn't accusatory, but she's sending her girlfriend a hard look; or, as hard of a look as she can from her position by the sink, face slathered with avocado cream. Isabelle is in the tub, eyes closed as she almost disappears between bubbles.

"I know everything, my darling. You're gonna have to be more specific than that."

"You knew that my brother had slept with your married brother, but you told him to do it anyways." She washes the remaining cream in her hands off, turning to face Isabelle and propping her hip against the sink. "Why? I know you're not someone to just support cheating. Not after what Meliorn did to you." Bringing him up is a low blow, and Clary knows it. Isabelle knows it too, because her eyes snap open and her face is like granite when she turns to look at the redhead. "Not only that, but you didn't even bother to tell him you know Alec. Do you see the position you put me in? Lying to my own brother?"

"Because Alec deserves some happiness. And just because Jace doesn't know yet, it doesn't mean we can't tell them. Fuck, I'll even offer to babysit for them to get some date nights if I have to." Izzy hesitates, the sharp edges disappearing from her features. "Alec's been stuck in a loveless marriage for years now, and he's too much of a stubborn ass to listen to me when I tell him to get a divorce. I thought that, maybe, if he fell for someone else, it would be what it took for him to stop being afraid."

"And if he doesn't? You're willing to sacrifice my brother's happiness for it?"

They both know that she is. Alec comes first to Isabelle. Always has, and always will. Neither of them has the guts to say it out loud, too scared about what that means for their own relationship. "He will. Alec doesn't do things half-way, the second he realizes he wants to be with Jace, he'll drop everything for him."

Clary doesn't point out that Isabelle can't be sure of that. Izzy is grateful for that.

* * *

 

It's the middle of the night, and Jace isn't sure of the time, but he knows he probably should be going home. Céline was definitely asleep already, and certainly not missing him, but he still felt guilty for not being there with her. Behind him Alec groaned, muscular arm wrapping tightly around his middle, and all conscious thought flew away from the blond. He sighed, contently melting against the larger man.

"We probably should talk." The voice is so low, raspy and close to his ear Jace almost hums. Alec isn't wrong, though, and he gives a small nod.

"Probably."

Neither of them move.

"I guess I should start off with saying that I've never done... this... before."

"Cheating on your husband?" Jace asked, his tone a tad snarkier than he wanted to. "You went to a bar without a wedding ring. Excuse me if I don't believe that."

Alec extended his hand between them, spreading his ring-free fingers; it was an impressively large hand, and Jace suddenly realized that maybe having that conversation while Alec's naked body was pressed against his was not the best idea.

"I haven't worn a wedding ring in two years." The blond man is ready to call bullshit on it, but then he gets why Alec is showing him his hand; there's no sign of a ring being recently taken off, not even a slight hint of the discoloration that should be there. "I lost it while I was traveling for work one time, and just didn't bother getting a new one."

"Didn't your husband mind?"

"Not really."

Jace gives him a little nod. The fact that his husband didn't care about something so pivotal made him understand Alec a little bit more, even if it didn't make the situation right. Jace knew, however, that apart from a very abusive husband, there was nothing that could make their situation right.

"Magn——"

"Don't." Jace cuts him, voice almost too loud. Alec's hand falls back onto Jace's rib cage. "Don't tell me his name. I can't handle that." Giving the man a name would make him human, make him real. Make their whole situation despicable and Jace didn't think he'd be able to see Alec again if he saw his husband as a real person.

"Our situation is... Not the best. That Friday, when I first went to the bar? I wanted revenge." Alec's voice is small, and his fingers are tracing patterns on Jace's side and he almost can't focus on what he's being told. "He has a mistress, as it turns out. Someone in his office, I didn't care to figure out who. I... I suspected it for a long time, but only got the confirmation earlier that week. So, by the end of the week, I decided to pay back in the same coin. I've been a devoted husband for ten years, and I was so angry, all I wanted was to do the same thing he did to me."

"It doesn't make things" _them_ "right."

"I know. Just... let me finish, ok?" The brunet sighed. "I know he doesn't love me anymore. Not like that, at least. God, I don't think I love him anymore either. We haven't in a while. And when I saw you, across the bar, I just wanted to rub it in his face that he wasn't the only one that could get someone pretty to fall in his bed. But then we started talking, and all I could think was how I wished I was single. How I wished I could take you out on a proper date, get to know you better than just some chit chat at a bar." Alec is silent for long enough that Jace doesn't think he's going to continue talking.

"So, you're telling me it's my fault?"

"No! Fuck, Jace, that's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is that, if it were anyone else, I wouldn't have had the drive to go through with it. I'd maybe flirt a little, get you interested, and leave." He shook his head. "I can't get a divorce. Not for, like, the next sixteen years, at least. I can't afford to fall for someone right now. And it's going to happen." Alec stopped talking, his tone going from frustrated to soft in a matter of seconds, his nimble fingers traveling from Jace's rib cage to his jawline. "I'm going to fall for you, at some point. I know that. But... I can't. Can't be with you."

"You said you can't get a divorce for sixteen years. Why?" And that's all Jace focus on, because he can't let himself focus on anything else at that moment; not Alec's touch, or his soft words, or the way Jace can feel his hazel eyes burning into him.

"We have a daughter. She turns four in a few days." Alec bit his lip, finally looking away from the blond next to him. "If we get a divorce, Magnus is going to get full custody. His work schedule is messed up as mine, but I have to travel all over the world, when he can stay and take proper care of her. Even if he has to stay overnight at the office once in a while, he's still a more reliable parent than I am. I'd only get to see Madzie on the weekends, if my schedule allows me to see her at all."

"So you're both stuck in a loveless marriage for the sake of your daughter." Jace can understand that. God, Jace had been in the same position just a year before; it hadn't been a relationship as serious as a marriage, but he had still forced himself to stay with Céline's mother to keep his child happy. His girlfriend hadn't been as selfless, and Jace was thankful that he got to keep his baby. "I get it." He sighed. "I have a daughter too, her name's Céline. I... Yeah, I'd do the same if I were in your shoes."

"How old is she?" Jace doesn't look back, but he can hear the smile on Alec's voice.

"Three. She's... The cutest kid I've ever seen."

"We should set a play date for them sometime." Jace turns his head back so quickly it gives him whiplash.

"You're joking."

"I'm... really not." Alec shrugs. "Not only would our girls get to be friends, but it gives us an excuse to meet out outside of this." He waves a hand to the hotel around them. It was a really nice hotel, once that Jace would never be able to afford.

"I'm not using my daughter for a booty call excuse."

"That's not what I meant." Alec sighed, and he doesn't hold back with the eye roll. "I told you, Jace. I'm going to fall for you. I wanted a real date the second you opened that damn mouth of yours. I know that what we're doing is not... Is not the best way to go about things, but I'd really like to get to know you outside of what noises you make when your dick hits my throat."

Jace wants to ask what will happen if they get caught. He doesn't, because he already knows the answer. They get caught, it's over. Alec is not leaving Magnus for him, not until Madzie is a grown woman. If he stops to think about it, Jace is certain what they are doing is a bad idea; he's going to get too invested in a pointless relationship, he's going to fall for Alec and he's going to have his heart broken. Jace refuses to think about it, though. Even if he can predict the future, he can't be sure he's right.

"I... I think I'd like that." He smiles. "As long as you're not trying to sneak me away to bang me in the bathroom while they play."

Alec smiles, then, and Jace knows he made the right call. At least for now.

* * *

 

The play date goes well. Madzie and Céline hit things off pretty quickly, as most kids their age do, and before Jace and Alec have time to come up with an excuse as to how they know each other, the two girls are already running off, squealing and babbling in the kind of language only kids can understand. They're in a public setting, a playground near Alec's apartment, and the two men sit in a comfortable silence as they watch their daughters run and wobble after each other, playing in the sand as if they are old friends.

Jace can help but smile, the warm coffee in his hands completely forgotten as he thinks about the instantaneous connection he had felt to Alec the first time they saw each other; it hadn't been nearly as innocent as the one between Madzie and Céline, of course, but it makes him think that, had Jace and Alec met as toddlers, they probably would grow up to be very good friends.

"At least they are getting along." Alec snickers next to him, his arm casually resting on the back of the bench, though Jace is very much aware of the pinkie finger brushing against his bicep.

"Did you expect anything else?" It's a joke, and Jace has to crane his neck back to look the other man in the face.

"Not really." The reply is soft, warm, and the two men smile at each other like there's no one else in the room.

A shriek from a nearby mother as her son eats a handful of sand brings them back to reality, and Jace shudders, his eyes immediately searching for his daughter. He finds Céline standing with a pout and her arms crossed in front of an adult man, dressed in way too expensive clothes for a kids' playground. In the stranger's arms is Madzie, who's smiling and talking excitedly with Céline. Jace is about to jump from the bench and rescue his daughter when he hears the small curse next to him.

"That's Magnus." The words come from Jace, not Alec. Because he has ever seen Magnus before, but one look at Alec's face tells him all he needs to know.

"Well, fuck me. Yeah, that's him."

"You should go to him." Jace says. He's panicking, which is not very logic since they aren't doing anything wrong; they have in the past, of course, but aren't at that current moment. He still feels as guilty as if had been caught butt naked in Alec's bed, and isn't sure he can look Magnus in the face.

"Hi, Mags." Alec says, loudly, and the blond man next to him blinks. It seems like it has been just a second since they spotted Magnus in the playground, but now he's in front of them, Madzie wiggling in his arms as she tries to run back to Céline, who's still standing in the middle of the playground.

"Hey, honey." His voice is smooth, movements fluid as he puts his daughter down and Jace can't help but notice that while he doesn't wear a wedding ring either, the ring is hanging from his neck, in a thin golden chain over the grey cashmere sweater he's wearing. "I noticed your car parked nearby when I was driving home, so I decided to stop by and maybe take Madzie for some ice cream."

"Magnus, this is Jace." Alec's voice is strained, and oh God, he has a horrible poker face and Jace doesn't really know, but he'd bet a lot of money that Alec is a horrible liar. "Madzie kind of adopted his daughter as her best friend."

"Nice to meet you." Jace says, extending his hand and smiling politely as if he hadn't spent the past night ravishing Magnus' husband.

"It's good to finally meet you too, Jonathan." There's something in his eyes, but Jace isn't sure _what_. They twinkle in a mischievous way that makes Jace's stomach drop, and he barely notices that Magnus is not supposed to know his actual name. "I hope you don't mind if I call you that. That's your legal name, right? You see, when Cat called me in the middle of the night to let me know she could see my husband having sex through our bedroom window, I just had to know who the lucky guy was." He holds Jace's hand a second too long. "Céline is more than welcome to come get ice cream with us, if she's allowed to."

**Author's Note:**

> As always, you can send me prompts for more stories at http://daddvrios.tumblr.com, or leave it in the comments!


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